Fernando, with significant improvements in his Aston Martin, was second, 2 tenths behind Verstappen, in his first contact with the Dutch circuit
The World Cup leader, who is looking for his ninth consecutive victory, dominated the first free practice session, in which Carlos Sainz did not participate
The holidays are over. Formula 1 has returned to action this Friday at the Zandvoort circuit, home of the Dutch Grand Prix, the first of the ten remaining to complete the 2023 calendar. The local hero max verstappen, Outstanding leader of the World Cup, he seeks this weekend to show off in front of his fans and if he achieves his ninth consecutive victory he would equal a record held by Sebastian Vettel. For now, the Red Bull driver has dominated the first round of free practice (1.11.852), which has been held in favorable conditions, pending the rain forecast for Saturday and Sunday.
Fernando Alonso has been slow to get out on track, like Lance Stroll. Aston Martin, which arrives at the Dutch track with important technical innovations not specific to the circuit, such as a new floor, new edges and grilles and a new diffuser, has started with a technical information problem in the telemetry, which has caused some confusion in the box at the beginning of the session. Stroll, who is also recovering from a bacterial infection, has barely been able to drive due to a fault detected in his car’s power unit. For his part, Alonso has managed to finish his first contact with the asphalt of Zandvoort in second position2 tenths of Verstappen’s time.
Carlos Sainz has not participated in these first free sessionssince he has given his car to the driver of the Ferrari Academy robert swartzman, thus complying with the mandatory F1 rule whereby all teams are required to seat a youngster from the quarry in a free session at least once throughout the season. The man from Madrid penalizes more than his teammate leclercwho will have to do it on a less complicated circuit, in the final round of Abu Dhabi.
The first red flag of the weekend has been caused by Nico Hülkenberg, who on Thursday was confirmed for the next season by Haas along with his current partner, the Dane Kevin Magnussen. The German driver hit the protections with 18 minutes to go and his car got stuck in the gravel, forcing the session to stop for a few moments.
GP Netherlands. Free Practice 1:
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1’11″852
2. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) at 0″278
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at 0″373
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) at 0″471
5. Alex Albon (Williams) at 0″595
6. Lando Norris (McLaren) at 0″608
7. Logan Sargeant (Williams) at 0″765
8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) at 0″806
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) at 0″897
10. Estebam Ocon (Alpine) at 0″950
11. George Russell (Mercedes) at 0″961
12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) at 1″043
13. Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri) at 1″138
14. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) at 1″470
15. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) at 1″596
16. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) at 01″667
17. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) at 1″974
18. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) at 2″171
19. Robert Shwartzman (Ferrari) at 2″951
20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) ST